After leading Syracuse throughout the 2021-22 season and teaming up to create one of the best shooting duos in the ACC, Buddy Boeheim and Cole Swider both went undrafted in the 2022 NBA Draft but signed two-way contracts with the Pistons and Lakers respectively. Both played sparingly throughout their rookie seasons, as Boeheim played in 10 games with Detriot, averaging 1.6 points in only nine minutes a contest. For Swider, the Rhode Island native only played in seven games, averaging 1.3 points per game in six minutes a contest.
So, since they played sparingly at the NBA level last season, both guys got plenty of opportunities at the Las Vegas Summer League with their respective teams and made the most of them. Boeheim played in five games and averaged over 11 minutes a contest (40-minute games), scoring six points a game and shooting 45% from beyond the arc. Swider had a much larger sample size to look at, averaging 15.2 points a game while playing 28.4 minutes a contest. He shot 42.5% from three-point range and averaged over five rebounds a night.
Plus, Swider’s new nickname, “Swiderman” is taking on steam, and if his shooting caught the attention of Rob Pelinka, Darvin Ham, and LeBron James, he could play in more than seven games with the Lakers this season. Shooting is always important around one of the greatest players to ever play, and Swider offers that at a premium level. The question with him will always be his defense, and there were many times at Syracuse that Swider looked like a turnstile on the wing of the 2-3 zone. Improving that to go along with his above-average outside shooting with his 6’9 size could go a long way.
For Boeheim, it’s unclear what his role with the Pistons could be this year, as new coach Monty Williams might have different plans for him than former coach Dwyane Casey did. Boeheim will always have a supporter in general manager Troy Weaver, someone who saw him grow up as an assistant coach under Jim Boeheim in the early 2000s.
The Pistons did renounce Boeheim’s rights last week, so he is a free agent, and it’s unclear whether or not he’ll latch on with another NBA team, G-League team, or head overseas. His brother Jimmy did that last season, and the two brothers announced a Boeheim-sponsored basketball camp taking place in August.
So, the future is unclear in professional basketball for the Boeheim brothers after Summer League has concluded, but Cole Swider might be the Orange’s next undrafted hope after Oshae Brissett has carved out a nice career as a role player so far. We’ll check in on how Swider’s doing throughout the year alongside LeBron James and the Lakers.
